


Time

by silvertrails



Series: A Creature of Two Worlds [15]
Category: The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-23
Updated: 2018-12-23
Packaged: 2019-09-25 03:24:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17113535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silvertrails/pseuds/silvertrails
Summary: Gildor explains Elladan why Glorfindel needs time.





	Time

**Time  
By CC   
February, 2008**

This is an amateur effort and does not intend to infringe on the rights of J.R.R. Tolkien. No profit is made and no harm is intended. The year is TA 241.

* * *

The night was cold and Elladan wrapped his cloak around himself tightly as he looked for a secluded spot near the river. He and Elrohir had come out of the vale with Gildor and his wandering company, and arrived at a village of Men in time for the first fruits festival. There had been dancing and song, and food and wine. The Elves had danced under the stars, tasted the local ale, and shared in the merriment. One of the locaL girls had been so taken with Elladan that she had offered him more; he might have said yes if her golden hair had not reminded him of Glorfindel. 

It was not fair, Elladan thought as he sat under an oak tree. The girl was pretty, and so were some of the young men he had met, but all Elladan could think of was Glorfindel. Elladan had believed things would go smoothly after their first kiss, but he had been wrong. There had been nothing else, and a few weeks later Glorfindel had left for Lothlórien carrying a message from Elrond. Elladan had felt betrayed, and he had refused to talk to Glorfindel or see him off. Maybe he was immature and there was nothing he could do to bridge that gap. Maybe Glorfindel had been trying to say just that. 

Elladan sighed and looked up at the stars, thinking of how different the sky looked outside the vale. Even if the stars were the same, there was something different that he could not define. Something that called to him in a different way... Stars were the first thing Elves saw when they woke in Cuiviénen, but the sun had been that guided Men to the West. Was he more a man than an elf? Maybe that was so, and he was just discovering it, or maybe he had drunk too much ale. 

He and Elrohir would go back to Imladris in a couple of days, and so would Lindir. Gildor and his company would continue the trip to the Grey Havens, and then spend a few weeks in the area before returning to Imladris. Lindir had never seen the sea, and apparently Gildor believed his lover to be too young to risk it. Elrond didn’t want the twins anywhere near the sea, either. Even if they were not full elves, their father didn’t want to risk it. 

It might affect Elrohir more than him, Elladan mused as he watched his brother sitting with Lindir near the fire. His twin was more attuned to Ennorath, and that was perhaps why they complemented each other so well. Both were creatures of two worlds, with the strengths and weaknesses of both peoples. Even if they were twins, Elrohir was more comfortable in the calmness of Imladris while Elladan loved the wilderness outside the vale and its perpetual change.

“You seem to be deep in thought,” a voice said beside him. It was Gildor. 

Elladan looked up and moved aside so Gildor could sit beside him. The older elf was carrying two cups. Herbal tea, Elladan noticed, and not the wine he had been hoping for. He made a face. 

Gildor grinned. “You’ve had enough ale for today,” he said. “Come on, drink. It will help with the cold.”

Elladan nodded and sipped a bit. “It helps, but so would wine,” he said. “I could have more, you know. I had stronger liquor when we visited that village up the Anduin.”

“Was that when you jumped on your horse and tried to find a shortcut through the woods?” Gildor asked with a small smile. “It nearly ended in disaster if I remember well.”

Elladan scowled at Gildor. “I couldn’t have known there were wolves in the area. I had never before seen real wolves, so I didn’t know what to expect.”

“Which is why you shouldn’t have tried to leave by yourself,” Gildor said. “But I’m not about to scold you for that, Elladan. I have done my share of wild things when I was young. I think I know how you feel.”

“I don’t think so,” Elladan said a bit too harshly. He sighed. “Sorry, Gildor. I’m in a bad mood. It’s not your fault that I cannot seem to find peace.” 

Gildor looked at him for a moment, and then set his half-empty cup on the ground. “There is no easy way at your age, Elladan. Lok, I have never been the parenting type, but there were things I would never have discussed with my father. I know you have Elrohir, but sometimes it is easier to speak to someone who is not as close to you as your twin. If you wish to talk, I am here to listen.”

Elladan had tensed when Gildor started to speak, but as the older elf continued, he let out a quiet sigh and leaned against the oak tree. Gildor seldom made him feel uncomfortable, even if the age gap between them was big enough. 

“It’s just that I’m no longer a child,” Elladan said, “Yet I cannot help but wonder if I will ever be an adult to... to those who helped father to raise me and Elrohir. Glorfindel, Erestor, even you sometimes make me feel as if I will never reach you...”

“Maturity is not only a matter of age, but it will come without you having to worry about it. This trip, for instance, or the one where you find the wolves, all those are things you have to live through to know what to do. Nobody can teach you that.”

“What about finding a mate?” Elladan asked. “I have been of age for a while, but he thinks I am too young! Is it so important to taste life before you choose a mate? What if the one you love first is the only one for you?” 

“I have no answer for that,” Gildor said quietly. “I am his friend and I know how he thinks about everything and how cautious he is when something is very important to him. He’s been through a lot, Elladan.”

“I know,” Elladan said quietly. “I just wish he allowed me to stay close...” He shrugged, not knowing what else to say. 

“I will not give you advice about this, Elladan. This is something you two have to solve. I just wish to tell you something.”

“What is it?”

“I remember the feelings and emotions raging inside me at your age, being so difficult to control. There was so much I could not understand back then, and it was worse with my family gone. It took a long time for me to settle down, and some would say I never did, but time was the only thing that helped. Give him time, Elladan, and give yourself time. Whatever life has in store for you, it will still be there when you are ready for it. Maybe it will be Glorfindel, but it might be someone else.”

Elladan looked at Gildor for a moment, and then turned to look at Lindir, sitting with Elrohir near the fire. Lindir was young too, and yet Gildor had taken him as a mate. Would Elladan and Glorfindel be together one day? Would Glorfindel really wait for him, as he had promised? It was so difficult to be patient and not know what Glorfindel wanted from him. Elladan sighed and nodded slowly. 

“I guess time is all I have,” he said bitterly. “I can’t do anything else but wait, can I? Maybe that’s how things are meant to be...”

Gildor said nothing, and a moment later stood and left with Lindir. Elrohir came to sit beside Elladan, and they stayed together in companionable silence, looking at the stars until dawn came and Arien’s car started its way up the sky.


End file.
